DraftKings enters Texas with new sports betting app
DraftKings, one of the nation’s largest sportsbooks, has come to Texas.
The company launched its DraftKings Predictions app Dec. 19 in several states that, like Texas, have banned sports betting.
DraftKings is able to get around that ban because the app is a prediction market, not a sportsbook. That means it can only be regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, meaning it can operate in all 50 states.
DraftKings Predictions joins Kalshi as a prediction market operating in Texas.
“It lets me trade sports like it’s Wall Street,” an actor in a DraftKings Predictions ad posted Dec. 19 said.
So far, the CFTC has shown little interest in curbing the rise of prediction markets. Several states have sued Kalshi for operating within their borders, but the legal battle has not been resolved.
In many ways, the DraftKings Predictions app looks and operates like a traditional sportsbook. However, it has a more limited sports menu while also providing markets on stocks and other financial instruments. For instance, one offering Friday afternoon allowed users to wager on the “Price of Bitcoin at 4PM ET on Dec. 19th, 2025.”
The critical difference that prediction market operators point out is that unlike traditional sportsbooks, they have no stake in the outcome of wagers. Users on opposite sides of a wager are matched up by the prediction market operator, which merely takes a transaction fee.
The legal battle will continue to play out, but for now, Texans can download the DraftKings Predictions app; fund it through their bank account, debit card, Apple Pay or another option; then start betting on, say, this weekend’s College Football Playoff games.
On DraftKings Predictions, Oklahoma is a 1.5-point favorite over Alabama on Friday, and Texas A&M is -3.5 against Miami on Saturday.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 1:19 PM.
